Rebuilding an Innovative Industry

“ [Innovation] is more like growing a garden. Investment. Tending. Patience. You don’t do that in a crisis, you scavenge to survive in a crisis. Now, after the crisis, as we rebuild, that is a different story.” Chris Leary, AIA

While firms used innovative tools and methods to become more efficient as individuals, we neglected to innovate as an overall industry. On the other side of the recession, there are emerging trends that as an industry, we would be wise to take action on. Here are just a few:

01

In order to justify innovation, we will have to get better at tracking and compiling consistent performance metrics. Innovation needs to deliver value, not just a ‘cool factor’.

02

As the understanding that long-term ownership costs trump original construction costs increases, owners can change the dynamic of the design/delivery process.

03

Technology will continue to evolve outside our industry. The early adopters of BIM should redouble their efforts to apply new trends and tools to our process.